Denali trip

Self-explanatory… our little family at Denali National Park.  It was a blast!! 

 

Who’s that kid peering out from under the bucket?  That’s a winning smile, I think we’ll take him home! 

 

We went hiking in Denali National Park.  Kian had a great nap, and we hiked until we got scared of seeing a grizzly bear.  We didn’t actually see one, and Scott and Dad were ready to keep going.  But as we got further and further away from the road, Mom and I refused to go on.  Too scary!  We did see caribou though, and that was great – we were in the car! 

 

 The Alaska gang at Denali. 

Visiting Santa…in July

Yesterday we visited the North Pole (actually North Pole, Alaska, not the North Pole) and Kian got to see Santa for the first time. He took to Santa and Mrs. Claus amazingly well.

Of course, being the smart, inquisitive kid he is, Kian had to make sure Santa’s beard was the real thing.

However, after a few tugs, Santa wasn’t feeling so jolly! Ho, Ho, Ho…let go of my beard kid.

From cute kid to that kid…

We all flew to Fairbanks yesterday to visit Tracey’s folks. As you can see in the picture below, we don’t travel light anymore.

   

 

Let me tell you, if you ever want to get lots of attention and start conversations with random strangers, pick up a cute kid and walk through an airport. Of course our kid is extra cute, so we get extra attention. 

However, the “aw, he’s a cutie” and “isn’t he a sweet little boy” were short lived once we got on the plane. Shortly after takeoff, Kian let loose and started screaming like mad. We’re not sure why. Could have been that it was stinking hot on the plane, or his tummy didn’t feel well, or who knows. This was his fourth plane trip and he usually does really well. Not this time though. We did all the same things, nursed him on the way up for his ears, etc. But something wasn’t quite right and he soon became that kid. You know, that kid that won’t stop screaming. That kid that people who have never been parents can’t figure out why his parents can’t get him to be quiet.  At first everyone tried to ignore it, assuming it would all subside soon. Then, while we were frantically trying anything and everything in our parenting toolbox, the subtle hints started coming out. The guy in front of us asked the flight attendant for earplugs. The guy next to him offered us Mounds chocolates. Why? We have no idea. Maybe he thought chocolate would quiet a 5½ month old. Maybe he felt bad for us. Nice gesture though. The pregnant lady in the row next to us looked terrified about what she had coming. Then I spotted the look. The look came from five rows up. A woman was staring at us, like we were bad parents and even worse human beings for obviously ignoring the needs of our son and letting him scream. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad. But there was definitely a prolonged stare, and when you on the receiving end of that stare, it feels like the whole plane is about to rally against you. It certainly made me want to take back any frustrated stares I may have offered up on a plane in the past. It’s amazing how perspectives change and how much grace increases.  

Scott

See Kian grow

We have been taking pictures of Kian each month in the same chair and have posted those on his website for you all to see.

It is absolutely amazing to see the changes from month to month. At this age, the changes can be quite drastic just over the course of one month. 

We hope you enjoy and come back next month for his 6 month (can you believe it?) picture.  

gone bananas?

Kian tried banana for the first time today. The verdict is still out on whether he liked it or not… 

 

Cherry Picking

Our  little family went cherry picking on the 4th of July.  Scott and I picked 17 lbs. of cherries, Kian’s weight in cherries!

 

mmm….fiber

Today Kian combined one of his longtime favorite activities, crumpling up any paper within his reach and sticking it in his mouth, with one his new found skills, scooting across the floor. Nothing is out of his reach now and we know we are officially in trouble.

No sign of the other half of the receipt yet… stay tuned and we’ll let you know if it reappears.

Hello world!

This is the first post in Kian’s blog of what will hopefully be many to keep you coming back for more.

We have some catching up to do… Kian is almost 5 1/2 months and this blog is only about 30 minutes old. So, in addition to the updates we will give you, we’ll also drop in some “history” to share some of our favorite moments over the last 5 1/2 months.